


The Trouble With Time

by WhirlwindWolf94



Series: Rise of the Guardians [5]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Rise of the Guardians - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 12:19:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17981207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlwindWolf94/pseuds/WhirlwindWolf94
Summary: Jack is in the wrong place at the wrong time. What happens when Father Time has to hiccup? He's about to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

_ Jack _

  
Alright, so there's a downside to being a Guardian. I was just doing my job, playing with a group of kids in Canada, and all of a sudden: BOOM!! A tree decided just then to snap under the weight of the snow piled on its branches. I had to use a blast of wind to knock one of the little ones out of the way so she wasn't crushed. And then I had a scared, crying little girl on my hands. The other kids were trying to make her stop and feel better to no avail. I knew one of my snowflakes would be a bad idea, so I had to think fast.

  
But before I could, a little white hare sprinted out in front of the little girl. Just like that, her tears went poof. She immediately started laughing and chasing after the little guy with her friends in tow. I shook my head and chuckled.

  
"Yeesh. Wish I still had that resiliency." I muttered to myself.

  
"Don't we all, young'un?" Said a voice from behind me, making me jump a foot.

  
I whipped around and saw an old man standing right there. And I mean old. Bald, long beard, knobby knees, gnarled hands, staff with a clock on it. . . Staff with a clock on it? Looking closer, I noticed the kaleidoscope eyes that simply radiated fatherly strength and wisdom.

  
"Oh, hey there, Father Time. Y'scared me." I said, flashing my smirk.

  
"Sorry about that, Jack. I was just watching you play with those little ones. . . I just realized how creepy that sounds." He said, putting the heel of a hand to his forehead.

  
"Eh, just a little." I replied, chuckling again, "So, what're you doing here?"

  
"Oh, a few young'uns are due for growth spurts and a few adults have grey hairs with their names on them." He flashed a smile through his beard.

  
"Well, that sounds like fun. And don't even think about giving me any greys!"

  
"Oh, you! I'm afraid the Moon already beat me to that, my young friend!"

  
I don't know why, but we went into a laughing fit. I had always liked Father Time, always gotten along with him. He's just so witty and doesn't let his "age" get in the way of anything. He even lets me call him "Grandpa" every now and then. And I swear he loses ten "years" every time he laughs. Speaking of, the laughing fit was subsiding and Father T had a sudden change of facial expression. I was about to ask about it, but I got my answer in a split second. Father T hiccupped.

  
A tingle in my head and a flash of white later, I was staring up at my companion. Wait, up? Wasn't I taller than him just a second ago? Father T put a gnarled hand to his mouth and looked at me in terror. Confused, I looked down at myself. Now it was my turn to be worried. At first, I thought my clothes had grown since I was practically swimming in blue fabric, but that wasn't it. My clothes hadn't gotten bigger, I had gotten smaller.

  
I was a baby! 


	2. Chapter 2

Jack.

  
"F-Father Time? What just--" My squeaky voice was cut off.

  
"Oh, dear. Jack, I am so sorry! This happens every time I hiccup. Usually, only a flower or two are affected, but. . . Oh my. . ." He trailed off.

  
"Just take me to North's workshop." I said, getting annoyed at my chipmunkk voice and lisp very quickly.

  
With a nod, he made a bundle with my clothes and scooped me up along with my stuff. Man, this was humiliating. I was just looking at my tiny hand, flexing it and feeling how weak and clumsy it was. And no teeth! That felt strange. Somehow, I found myself wondering how I could talk. I didn't even notice we were at the workshop until I heard Phil's surprised grunt.

  
Needless to say, North was found in seconds. With a short explanation, I was handed off to Phil (who seemed delighted for some reason) as North called the others. I had never seen the man pace so much before. And poor Father Time. He kept up a string of apologies all the while. Well, the others got there surprisingly quick. After Father T explained things to them, Phil brought me out. Their reactions were expected.

  
As I crossed my arms, Tooth tried to cover an "aww" with her hands. Sandy's sand made a "?!" symbol. And then he tried to hold in laughter. And Bunny. . . Well. Alright, Bunny just laughed. The rabbit was holding his sides with laughter. That is until North stomped his foot.

  
"Bunny! This is not funny! Jack is a Guardian. He cannot remain a baby!" North exclaimed, sobering everyone in the room.

  
"Well, what can we do?" Tooth asked while Sandy made a question mark.

  
"You will have to wait." Said Father T and everyone turned to him, "Jack will age one year every week until he is back to normal. You'll just have to take care of him until then. Now, I must be going. If Mother Nature hears about this through the grape-vine and not from me, she'll have my head. Again, Jack, I'm so sorry!"

  
With that, he was gone. And everyone was silent and still as a statue. Well, Phil was bouncing me gently up and down. But other than that. . . I couldn't take it anymore.

  
"Hello! Teenager stuck as a baby over here!" I hollered as loud as my annoying little baby voice could go.

  
That did the trick. First thing first, they found me some clothes that fit. Unfortunately, it was a baby's sailor suit. And don't remind me about the diaper. I just wanted to hide. Then housing. Who would look after me while I was like this?

  
Well, North couldn't do it. If he didn't monitor the elves, they'd destroy the factory (which was too dangerous for an infant, anyway). Tooth was out, too. She had to direct her fairies and organize the teeth. Sandy was a no-go. Couldn't exactly house a baby without a house. And that left Bunny. He was off-duty and had a lot of space to care for a rapidly growing child.

  
So, feeling extremely awkward, Bunny carried me in his arms to the Warren. This was going to be a long eighteen weeks. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link to the song here!   
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BCKWmCVxXU

_Bunnymund_

  
Perfect. Just bloody perfect. Not only did Frostbite get himself turned into an ankle-biter, I had to look after the little sprite. Alright, I guess that's not fair. It wasn't his fault he happened to be near Father Time when he hiccupped. But this was still a great deal awkward. I had my rival in my arms as an infant. Well, he was a little cute as a baby.

  
Wait, what?

  
Giving myself a mental shake, I hopped through my tunnels and came to a small room that used to be a nursery. Jack looked at me strangely when he noticed the baby-care stuff. Guess I owe him an explanation.

  
"I may not be a true Pooka, mate, but my Warren was home to them. Back before they were wiped out, they would live an' love here. And this was one of the many nurseries to care for the leverets. Er. Baby rabbits." I explained. He nodded slowly and looked around.

  
There was a crib in the center of the room with a canopy hanging over it. Changing table on the left wall and toys in the far right corner accompanied it. In the closet was a high-chair and pram (an old-fashioned stroller). The walls and floor were decked out in classic forest pattern. But the ceiling was different. It was a perfect midnight-blue with stars that shone at night and sent the leverets to sleep. Gah, my instincts were trying to take over. I had to remember that Jack wasn't a real baby, but a full-grown eighteen-year-old.

  
"Do I have to stay in here?" Jack asked suddenly.

  
"Wha- No, mate. Just at night. You're a baby, Jack, not a prisoner." I said, sitting him down on the ground with the toys.

  
He immediately fell over.

  
"Gah! Hey, what's the deal? I can't sit up!" Jack stated, trying to sit up.

  
"Not surprised, mate. From the looks of ya, you're not old enough yet to hold yourself up by yourself." I said, propping him up against a stuffed animal.

  
"Great."

  
Same old Jack. Before he could say anything else, I heard a tiny grumble. I cocked an eyebrow as Jack glanced at his tummy.

  
"I'm hungry." He said, looking up at me through his eyelashes.

  
Smiling, I went over to the closet and got the pram. I grabbed the high-chair as well and went back to Jack. I picked the little guy up and put him in the stroller, ignoring his indignant face. It felt so strange, pushing the stroller through the Warren and into the kitchen. Stranger when I set up the high-chair at the table and set Jack in it. And stranger still when I began cooking and mashing peas, carrots, and apples for baby food. And the kicker was the fact that I couldn't stop humming through it all.

  
Oh well. After everything was mashed and cooled, I brought the two bowls over to Jack.

  
"What's that?" Jack asked, eyeing the stuff.

  
"This is mashed peas and carrots," I said, indicating the green one, "and this is home-made applesauce." I pointed at teh other one.

  
"Ew."

  
Ignoring that, I took a baby spoon and scooped some of the green mush onto it. I was expecting Jack to be mature and just eat. Wrong. The kid clamped his mouth shut tight and turned his head away. He even wrinkled his nose.

  
"Oh, c'mon, Snowflake. It's not that bad." I said, surprisingly gentle.

  
Jack shook his head.

  
"C'mon, Jack, eat. It's yummy!"

  
"Mm-mm!"

  
"C'mon, mate, the train's pullin' into the station! Chugga-chugga choo-choo!" I was so confused by my own silliness, I nearly missed my chance.

  
Jack gave me that "seriously?" look and dropped his jaw. And that's when I stuck the spoon in his mouth and put a paw over it so he wouldn't spit it out. With a glare, he swallowed and didn't fight anymore. I knew I was smiling, but didn't really know why. He finished the veggie-mash and I got the applesauce. He seemed happier about this as I fed him. Good. I'd take that as a compliment, I made it myself, after all.

  
"Would you quit making those faces?" Jack asked as he got down to the last of the food.

  
"What? What faces?" I blinked.

  
"You're mimicking me trying to keep the stuff in my mouth."

  
"Oh, I am? Sorry, didn't realize it." I really didn't.

  
Well, that was the last of the food. I got up and rinsed the bowls, then filled a baby bottle with milk and stuck it in a pot of water on the stove to heat up. Looking back at Jack, I saw that he had most of the food on his face. With a chuckle, I wet a washcloth and went back over to him. At least he let me do that without a fight. Going back to the bottle, I checked the temperature of the milk. Perfect. I gave Jack the bottle, noticing the chagrined look on the poor tyke's face.

  
Oops. Poor Jack couldn't even get a grip on the bottle. The poor thing looked at me with the most pitiful expression, I immediately swept him up and held the bottle for him. With his cheeks a deep blue with a frost, Jack quietly drank. I was surprised to find myself rocking gently. Although nothing should surprise me at this point. After a second, Jack turned his head away and I put the bottle down and burped him. Wit ha sleepy smile, Jack closed his eyes and I laid him in the stroller.

  
"Bunny?" Jack asked as we got back to the nursery room.

  
"Yeah, mate?"

  
"I can't sleep."

  
Looking at the little guy, I saw worry in his eyes. With a soft smile, I scooped him up and sat us down in a rocking chair near the crib.

  
"Scared?" I asked softly, starting to rock.

  
"A little." He replied, closing his eyes.

  
Stroking his hair, I found myself humming again. Louder this time, so Jack could hear.

  
"What're you humming?" Jack asked, eyes still closed.

  
"Just a song I heard once that I liked."

  
"Could you - Haaahh - Sing it for me?" He asked, yawning.

  
With a smile, I sang;

  
"Stars and moons and air balloons,

Fluffy clouds to the horizon,

I'll wrap you in rainbows,

And rock you to sleep again.

Teddy bears of pink,

Ducks and lambs of white,

Don't you cry, dear, I'm here now,

I'll be your night light.

Stars and moons and air balloons,

Fluffy clouds to the horizon,

I'll wrap you in rainbows,

And rock you to sleep again.

Smiles to cure the frowns,

Twirling and tumb'ling in laughter,

Someday life will always be

Hap'ly ever after.

Nevermore will the storms come,

To destroy your little world,

Nevermore will the waters rise,

Til the mountains no longer touch the skies.

Stars and moons and air balloons,

Fluffy clouds to the horizon,

I'll wrap you in rainbows,

And rock you to sleep again.

I'll wrap you in rainbows,

And rock you to sleep again."

 

Looking down at him, I saw Jack sleeping soundly, clutching at my fur. Y'know, maybe, just this once, I could let my shields down and let my paternal instincts take over. At least until Jack was back to normal. With a tender smile, I leaned down and kissed Jack's forehead. Within seconds, I was curled around Jack in the chair, sawing logs with him. I guess I really will do anything for my baby brother.


	4. Chapter 4

_ Bunnymund _

  
The next morning, I woke up to whimpers. With my instincts on high-alert, I looked down at Jack. Woah. He'd grown overnight. But he was still whimpering and tears were leaking from his clenched eyes.

  
"Jack? What's wrong, Snowflake?" I asked, brushing his hair away from his face.

  
"My mouth hurts." He said from behind his tiny hands.

  
I got him to open his mouth to let me see. Yep, his gums were swollen. Teething. As gently as I could, I transferred Jack to the crib and raced to the kitchen. I'd figured he'd get to this stage soon, so I had stuck a wet washcloth in the freezer the night before. Grabbing it, I raced back to Jack. Poor thing was chewing on the blanket when I got there.

  
"Here, Snowflake, chew on this." I said, giving him the cloth.

  
"Thankth" Jack slurred, poor thing. 

  
As Jack started chewing, I smelled it. And the sprite noticed that I had. The little guy's eyes welled up again and he hid his face in the cloth. Without batting an eye, I scooped him up and laid him down on the changing table. Diaper off, wipe, powder, new diaper. Over in a blink. Didn't stop Jack from feeling humiliated, poor thing. Crikey, I'm saying that a lot.

  
"Jack. Look, this isn't somethin' t'be embarrassed about. I bet your mother did this when you were an actual baby." I said, scooping him up again.

  
"Yeah, but you're not my mother. Geez, could this get any more humiliating?"

  
Shaking my head, I carried him out to the main painting chamber for breakfast. He could sit up on his own now, so I could leave him with my sentinel eggs to make it. Oatmeal should be good, so I made a couple bowls of that. I had to stop myself from putting honey in Jack's. He wouldn't be able to digest it yet. Grabbing a sippy-cup of apple juice, I set out with the food. The sight that greeted me actually made me go "aww!"

  
Jack was curled up with the cloth still in his mouth, taking a nap with a bunch of little eggs surrounding him. As if that wasn't cute enough, he just had to yawn and blow out a dandelion. I hated to do it, but I had to wake him up to eat. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and smiled when he saw the food. This time, I didn't have to make a fool of myself. He ate with no problem. To be honest, the rest of the baby stage went just as easily.

  
Of course, once he could walk, Jack was off. But, to his credit, he did come right back to me when I called. Thank the Moon for that. During week four, we narrowly avoided disaster. Somehow, an adder had gotten into the Warren. as soon as I smelled the thing, I called Jack back to me and the snake barely missed the little guy's foot. Needless to say, Jack stayed pretty close after I killed the thing.

  
He took the baths pretty well, too. Of course, he insisted on wearing swim shorts, but I wasn't complaining. I found out that he had ticklish spots right behind his ears and on his sides. And when I did, he squirted me with a little toy fish I gave him. I guess it turned into a bath for the both of us from that point on. But he seemed to like the shampoo. He nearly fell asleep once, had to catch him before he went face-first into the water. And the bubbles went everywhere. But, I have to say, it was a bit fun.

  
And Jack was quite the clumsy kid.

  
During week five, Jack fell off of one of the sentinel eggs, gaining a scrape on the knee and losing a tooth. Poor thing was trying not to cry as I cleaned and dressed the scrape. Normal five-year-olds would've been wailing by then. Surprisingly, when I found the tooth, it disappeared in my paw. That was really strange. Well, I guess Jack couldn't have two sets of teeth, could he? Besides, I bet he'd want to forget about all of this as soon as possible.

  
Of course, the others popped in every now and then. They came to check on Jack and play with him. Phil and Baby Tooth were regulars with North and Tooth and Jack loved their visits. Baby Tooth would hide in the grass and Jack would stealth-crawl to find her. And Phil would run about with Jack on his shoulder. Under my supervision, of course. I had become rather protective of Jack ever since the adder incident. And the others commented on it.

  
"Bunny, Phil is very fond of Jack. He won't drop him." North said one day during week seven.

  
"Wha'?" I blinked. Didn't know it was so obvious.

  
"North's right, Bunny. Jack's just fine." Tooth said, patting my shoulder.

  
"I know, I know. Can't help it."

  
"Is nothing to apologize for, Bunny, we all love Jack. But we haven't been here through the baby stages." North said as Sandy's sand made a cradle and he shrugged, sending sand dolphins toward the playing trio.

  
"Conveniently." I smirked. Sandy laughed silently.

  
"I think it's cute. You're like a father or at least a big brother." Tooth said, watching Jack chase the sand dolphins with Phil and Baby Tooth.

  
"I am his big brother, Tooth. We're all his family. You've always been a mother to him, North a father, and Sandy's like the cool uncle that kid is most excited to see at gatherings. Y'know what I'm saying?" They exchanged glances and smiled.

  
"Of course we do, Bunny. You're right, we are a family." North stated with Sandy nodding along.

  
"And it all started when Jack joined us as a Guardian. He brought us all together." Tooth said as Sandy clapped.

  
That was true. All of it was true. We were going through all the stages of a family in only eighteen weeks. And, to be honest, I was enjoying it. It was nice to be a brother without the side-job of bickering and pranking. Not to mention, it gave me the chance to see that Jack hadn't changed much from child to teenager. He just developed a serious side every now and then. Gah, I'm getting mushy.

  
Oh well. The rest of the weeks went pretty much the same. Although, secretly, I think I'm going to miss taking care of a child. Maybe. A little. Heh. Anything for my little brother. 


	5. Chapter 5

_Jack_

  
Yes! Eighteen weeks done! I can run, fly, use my powers, and do things without Bunny nearly having a heart attack. Seriously, that was embarrassing! Bad enough I was this tiny, helpless, talking baby, but I had to be cared for by the person I had given the hardest time. Although, I'm not gonna lie, Bunny did a good job. He could've assaulted me with teases and jokes.

But he didn't.

  
It was very trippy going through every year of my first life again. Since getting my memories back, I've had flashbacks to my younger years. But I've always been the big brother. I've never been the younger sibling, having someone who wasn't a parent to take care of me. It was nice. Bunny was actually a great big brother. Heh. He'd freak if he knew I thought that.

  
Anyway, once I was back to normal, I got a visit from Father Time. And Mother Nature. Apparently, she hates it when Father T gets hiccups. It makes her eye twitch when it happens to flowers or plants. But when it happened to me, it made her head spin. Father T apologized yet again and Mother Nature gave me a once-over to make sure I was alright. Once it was clear that I was, they left as suddenly as they had shown up.

  
Well, I can say that after all this, Bunny and I were a lot closer. And friendlier toward each other as well. We even laughed about all of it at times. Especially at the train-sound spoon trick. If anyone asked me if I regretted any part of that experience, I'd have to say no.

Okay, maybe the diaper changes and the baths. But not the bonding.

  
Yeesh, if anyone heard that, they'd think I've gone soft. Well, maybe I have, but I'm not alone here! Every now and then, I hear Bunny humming that song. Strange thing is, I've started humming it, too. I even sang it once when I was in Burgess and got the snow scared out of me when I turned and saw Jamie and Sophie right there. I guess that doesn't matter, they liked it. But they liked the story even more.

  
But I did learn one thing for sure. Never stand anywhere near Father Time when he has hiccups. 


End file.
